President Obama recently sent Congress his proposed budget. Instead of offering a serious proposal, the president offered a road map to financial collapse and demonstrated how out of touch he is with the American people.
Unfortunately, the common-sense rules that govern most family budgets are considered radical concepts in Washington.
That’s why this week I joined my fellow members of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative think tank of the House of Representatives, in releasing seven guidelines for restoring fiscal sanity in Washington.
To be honest, hardworking American families won’t find these guidelines to be rocket science. Balance the budget. Reduce unnecessary spending. Fix the tax code. Ensure strong national security. That all sounds like common sense, right? If only everyone in Washington thought so.
Work will soon begin on the fiscal year 2017 federal budget, so we wanted to make clear the guiding principles that any federal budget must follow to gain support of House conservatives. They are as follows:
1) The federal budget must balance within 10 years. Like an out-of-control credit card spender, President Obama’s budget never balances. Hardworking American families balance their budgets, and Washington should too.
2) Reduce mandatory spending and return safety net programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to solvency. Fifty years ago, mandatory spending composed about one-third of the federal budget; today, it takes up two-thirds. If we don’t get these programs on the right track, they won’t be around for future generations.
3) Reduce discretionary spending. Many programs under the Obama administration have continued even after their congressional authorization expired. Every dollar in the budget should be accounted for.
4) Reform and simplify our broken tax code to promote economic growth. Our tax code is longer than the Bible, but with none of the good news. We need to simplify our tax code and eliminate carve-outs for special interests groups with lawyers and lobbyists.
5) Remove President Obama’s multiple layers of unnecessary regulation which are slowing the economy and killing job growth. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently downgraded its projections for the economy, specifically citing Obama administration polices as contributing to the problem.
6) Ensure “reconciliation instructions” are focused on common-sense priorities instead of being used to prop up President Obama’s campaign promises in his final year. “Reconciliation” is the powerful tool that allowed Congress to put a bill repealing Obamacare and defunding Planned Parenthood on President Obama’s desk.
7) The budget must ensure a strong national defense. This is the first duty of the federal government. America faces a multitude of challenges all around the world, including growing threats posed by ISIS, Iran, China, North Korea and Russia. Over the next decade, national defense must be adequately funded to ensure our men and women in uniform can continue to do their job and keep us safe.
To build upon these seven guidelines, I am currently working with my colleagues on the RSC Budget and Spending Task Force to draft a conservative budget proposal, which will be released later this month.
THE WEEK IN WASHINGTON
On Tuesday, the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, on which I serve as vice chair, explored whether certain U.S. foreign aid programs should be linked to the receiving country’s willingness to help combat terrorism financing.
On Wednesday I met with members of the European Parliament to discuss national security, cyber-security and terrorist financing. Terrorism affects all countries of the free world. As such, we must work together to stop the threat of global terrorism.
This week I voted in favor of H.R. 3716, the Ensuring Access to Quality Medicaid Providers Act, a bill to combat Medicaid abuse by providing states increased access to the names of providers terminated from participating in Medicaid due to fraud.
Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-Charlotte, represents North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.